Mr. Wise Guy

The East Side youth gang Muggs McGinnis, Danny Collins, Glimpy Stone, Scruno, Skinny, and Peewee are arrested after the truck they were playing in is stolen. They are remanded to Wilton Reform School, where Muggs is dubbed "Mr. Wise Guy" by the brutal guard Jed Miller.

The arrested youths are processed into reform school life. Muggs's wisecracking style clashes with the staff, and guard Jed Miller quickly makes his presence felt as a harsh authority figure.

Jim Barnes becomes the reform school’s new warden and begins reform-style changes. He reassures Danny's older brother Bill about the system’s new gentler rules and the role his testimony played in removing the former warden.

Barnes's secretary Ann Mitchell gives Bill a tour of the school, and he later takes her out to dinner. The scene establishes a personal connection amid the reform school’s tense atmosphere.

That night, escaped convict Luke Manning robs a drugstore and murders the clerk. Manning hijacks Bill’s car, forcing him to lead the police on a chase; after a crash, Manning escapes and Bill is later convicted of robbery and murder and sentenced to execution.

Back at Wilton Reform School, Muggs and his pals continue to clash with two hard cases, Rice Pudding Charlie and Chalky Jones. When Barnes witnesses Miller encouraging a fistfight, he demands Miller’s resignation to halt the brutal routine.

Chalky tries to get the boys in further trouble by informing Barnes about their plans to run away, but Barnes punishes Chalky for being an informer in an effort to establish a code of honor among the inmates.

The boys see newsreel footage of lottery winners and recognize Knobby, the driver of the stolen truck. They connect Knobby to Manning using information from Charlie, Manning’s nephew, strengthening the case that Manning is involved.

Armed with what they know, the boys escape from reform school and go to Dorothy Melton’s apartment, the woman pictured in the newsreel. They detain Dorothy and Knobby, who had planned to flee town with the lottery money they feared Manning would steal.

Manning arrives at Dorothy's apartment to demand the money and hits Dorothy for double-crossing him with Knobby. The confrontation threatens to escalate until the police arrive and arrest the criminals.

The police arrive and arrest Manning, Knobby, and the others involved, ending the tense standoff at Dorothy's apartment. The loot is recovered and Manning’s worries about being seen grow.

Bill receives a reprieve from the governor and prepares to report for active military duty, a turn that brings a bittersweet moment for Ann and the reform school’s residents as they see him off. Bill’s departure signals a shift from the school’s immediate crises to broader duties.

On the day of their drafts, Miller is drafted as well, prompting Bill to tell his sergeant to book him for the guard house. The tense standoff hints at a forthcoming clash that the boys will witness.

In the final moment, Bill begins to beat up Jed Miller while the watching boys cheer, signaling a cathartic end to the years of brutality and control Miller represented. The confrontation brings the earlier reform efforts to a head and vindicates the boys’ perspectives.